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Orwell's views on totalitarianism
Orwell's views on totalitarianism
Totalitarianism in George Orwell 1984
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George Orwell presents the argument about the relationship of language and thought. For an individual to formulate a thought and effectively communicate it, they must first create it through the use of language. Therefore, The Party in 1984 believed that the most effective way to end thought crime would be by deleting words and make the “range of consciousness always a little smaller” (Orwell 52). Eventually, an individual's thoughts and beliefs will be eliminated as there will be no words to express it. Every concept and every idea can be defined by a group of words, if there is a limitation on these words, there is a limitation on thoughts overall. As displayed in 1984, language has a significant influence over the lives of people. Without language, thought becomes more difficult to formulate, and almost impossible to communicate.
According to 1984, technology plays a significant role in the creation of the totalitarian government presented in the novel. The telescreens which the party demands all party members have, keep watch on all their actions. As argued by Winston, even “the smallest thing could give you away” (Orwell 62). Even the slightest act of rebellion can be recorded through the telescreens from which the Party spies on its members. This technology is an important tool which the Party utilizes to maintain
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Reality can be influenced by various factors including manipulation, emotions, and beliefs. As claimed by the Party, “who controls the past, controls the future” (Orwell 34). Reality, as displayed in 1984 can be altered through an individual’s opinion and emotions, making it subjective. An event can occur, but the way each person sees it and interprets it will be different. Therefore, reality for one individual will differ from the other. Memory is fallible, it can also be manipulated as displayed by doublethink in 1984. One person’s reality will not always be the same as
Diction: While George Orwell used fairly simple and uncomplicated diction to tell the story many of his words still have a very powerful diction. In the first chapter the protagonist Winston is attack by the smell of “boiled cabbage and old rag mats”. This is the first indication to the nature of the living conditions of our protagonist. However, Orwell also uses his diction to create the atmosphere of Oceania with lines like “the world looked cold. Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no colour in anything”. These lines contain powerful words like cold, torn, and harsh and these worlds help paint the picture of what kind of story we are reading.
Through the manipulation of language, deception and control are facilitated. A clear demonstration is uttered by Syme to Smith: “Do you know that Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year?...Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?” (Orwell 46). The attenuating language represents an additional barrier preventing contradictory thoughts from even existing. With a limited and insufficient language, the complexity of thought is considerably reduced along with a person's aptitude to formulate or express ideas thus preventing threats to the all-powerful government. As a result of the shrinking language, the future will be affected in such a way that “By 2050- earlier, probably- all real knowledge of Oldspeak will have disappeared. The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed” (Orwell 47). The changing of the language would have serious repercussions in any future, real or fictitious. Without knowledge of a different world, people will know no better than to blindly and obediently follow their strict, totalitarian government, never becoming aware of the power it holds over them. The...
is this fear of the Government which all of us have. We may fear that
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, is a superb novel with outstanding themes. One of the most prominent themes found in this novel is psychological manipulation. Citizens in this society are subject to ever present signs declaring “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 1). Along with psychological manipulation, physical control takes place. The Party not only controls what people in Oceania think, but what they do as well. Technology is another important theme. Without the constant telescreens, microphones, and computers, the Party would be all but powerless. Big Brother is the main figure of the Party. The main symbol that drives these themes is the telescreens. It is representative of the party always watching and controlling everyone at all times.
1984 is set in a dystopian future named Oceania with an overarching government that has control of what everybody sees, hears, and even thinks. They can even change the past by modifying records and destroying original records. Oceania also has flat screen TV’s with cameras and microphones in them so they can monitor people at all times everywhere called telescreens. The oppressive dictatorship, headed by
The effect the Party has had on Winston’s humanity can be seen in his mental deterioration shown through his thought process and his physical being. Orwell uses a great deal of figurative language to further evidence the appalling situation Winston has found himself in. “His mind sagged round and round on the same track, like a ball falling again and again into the same series of slots.” The simile comparing Winston’s mind to a ball on a pointless journey into the same slots is used to show the futility of Winston’s thoughts against the party; no matter how hard he may try to plot against the Party he will always end up imprisoned, having no effect on the world. This forced inaction by the Party is one way Winston is robbed of his humanity, as it is a human right to voice one’s opinions in a
1984 Essay - Technology used in 1984 1984 is a dystopian novel written by George Orwell. Orwell talks about how our government makes use of technological devices by putting surveillance cameras everywhere so they can watch all the moves we make, and listen to whatever we’re saying. The Party uses technology like telescreens, speakwriting, and mics to control its citizens. Telescreens are the Party’s way of spying on everyone’s life. Telescreens were used as surveillance cameras and propaganda tools.
In Winston’s dystopian world he is under 24/7 surveillance anywhere, everywhere. ‘Big Brother’ and the Inner Party watches Oceania through what used to be televisions are now telescreens. In the modern society however, how we live our everyday lives is not stricted like 1984, and we are free in many aspects compared to Winston’s way of living. “The rule here is simple: if you are invoking 1984 in a country in which 1984 is available for purchase and can be freely deployed as a rhetorical device, you likely don’t understand the point of 1984” as Moynihan states. Living in the society of 1984 you are prohibited to your own freedom, and you are brain-washed so much you believe anything ‘Big Brother’ says is the truth which will always be the truth. ‘Big Brother’ and the Inner Party uses manipulation, repression, and euphemism to confuse the mind to believe two plus two equals five, and going against the fact will end your life. However, 1984’s society does exist as Moynihan says, “Such states exist, like the truly Orwellian slave state of North Korea, where all apartments are fitted with radios offering a single government station and no switch, but they bear little resemblance to contemporary America.” In other words our world has no correlation to Winston’s world.
In the novel 1984 by Orwell, an extremely controlling totalitarian government called The Party, rules the society. They have introduced Telescreens which monitor your every movement, conversations and any other action. The citizens of Oceania, located on Air Strip One, are psychologically manipulated to believe in the three main slogans of the party: ‘War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength’ (1948, Orwell). The citizens of Oceania are so brainwashed that they don’t question anything the party tells them or any new law they make. Thought crime occurs when someone does not fully agree and follow what the Party has said. People who commit crimes become unpersons; therefore, they stop existing, and any record of their existence is erased or they can be sent to the ministry of truth, where The Party will try to break them, and force them to love Big Brother. This is very relevant because in order to serve justice which according to them is having everyone love the Party and nothing else, everyone else must be eliminated or brainwashed. The use of technology in this novel is very important because it is the main way in which justice is carried out. Telescreens, microphones and cameras cover the whole nation. Every conversation is recorded and every action is taken note of. The government will make anything to keep their power.
The year 1984 has long passed, but the novel still illustrates a possibility for the future of society. It still remains a powerful influence in all sorts of literature, music, and social theory. George Orwell envisioned a nightmarish utopia that could have very easily become a possibility in 1949 ? the year the novel was written. He managed to create such a realistic view of humanity?s future, that this story has been deemed timeless. There will always be the threat of totalitarianism, and at some moments civilization is only a step away from it. Orwell hated the thought of it, and 1984 shows that. From his work, readers who live in prevailing democratic society have a chance to consider about these very different political systems, democracy and totalitarianism.
Ahyan Mehta Ms. Bishop ENG 4U1.51 5 April 2024. Exploring Control and Power in 1984 Imagine living in a society where everyone is told to think, live and feel the same propaganda under the threat of torture. In the 1984 novel by George Orwell, the government’s use of control and power is evident and powerfully clear. The novel is set in a totalitarian society ruled by the Party led by Big Brother.
If one person seemed rebellious, they would vanish without a trace, erased from history. In 1984, the government used advanced surveillance technology to monitor and control every aspect of its citizens' lives, instilling fear and paranoia. The party in power rewrites history and controls the flow of information to manipulate the population's perceptions and maintain its grip on power. Citizens in "1984" are stripped of their individuality and forced to conform to the party's ideals, leading to a society where independent thought is
Orwell also felt the use of foreign phrases was irrelevant by saying: “There is no real need for any of the hundreds of foreign phrases now current in the English language.” The use of foreign phrases and scientific jargon causes the wr...
As we speak, hundreds of satellites orbit our planet, each capable of watching everything we do outside. This technological advancement highly mimics that of the telescreens in 1984. If our government wished, it could use helicopters to peer into our windows just as “the party'; did in the novel. “‘I didn’t want to say anything in the lane,’ she went on, ‘in case there’s a mike hidden there’';(Orwell 125). The mikes that can hear your conversation are much like the cellular phones in our society. Cell phones have become common place but perhaps that was not by chance. A cell phones works by sending signals through the air, which could very easily be picked up by an outside source. If they so choose, the government could listen to every conversation made on a cell phone. Technology, rather than helping to retain our privacy, actually takes it away.
This paragraph highlights commonly used words that can convey a different meaning to every reader or writer as they have no concrete definition. Many words have an assumed connotation that in reality might not agree to what the author intends to communicate. To summarize the effect of Orwell’s four points, he creates a parody of a passage from Ecclesiastes. He describes the multiple redundancies and irrelevant points, and how he as a writer would avoid them.